Ministry of Defence

Service Complaints Ombudsman’s Annual Report 2019

Johnny Mercer: I am pleased to lay before Parliament today the Service Complaints Ombudsman’s Annual Report for 2019 on the fairness, effectiveness and efficiency of the Service complaints system. This report is published by Nicola Williams – her last as Ombudsman - and covers the fourth year of operation of the reformed Service complaints system and the work of her office in 2019. The findings of the Report and the new recommendations made will now be considered fully by MOD, and a formal response to the Ombudsman will follow once that work is complete.

Department for Transport

Transport Update

Grant Shapps: This statement concerns the application for the A38 Derby Junctions Development Consent Order made by Highways England under the Planning Act 2008, which had been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 23 April 2019.Under section 98(1) of the Planning Act 2008 the Examining Authority appointed to examine the application must complete its examination within six months. Under section 98(4) the Examining Authority must submit its recommendation report to the Secretary of State within three months of its completion of the examination. The examination began on 8 October 2019 and was due to close on 8 April 2020. The recommendation report would need to be sent to the Secretary of State on or before 8 July 2020.Under section 107(1) of the Act, following receipt of the Examining Authority’s recommendation report, the Secretary of State must decide whether to grant development consent. A decision in this case would therefore be made on or before 8 October 2020.Sub-sections 98(4) and 107(3) of the Act give the relevant Secretary of State power to set new deadlines in respect of the above which are later than the statutory maxima. For this application, the relevant Secretary of State is the Secretary of State for Transport. In exercising this power, the Secretary of State for Transport must, amongst other things, make a statement to Parliament announcing the new deadlines.The deadline for the completion of the examination is to be extended to 8 September 2020 (an extension of five months) to enable examination hearings postponed in the light of Government advice concerning coronavirus (COVID-19) to be rescheduled and held in a virtual forum. Consequently, the deadline for the Examining Authority to submit its recommendation report to the Secretary of State for Transport is amended to 8 December 2020 and the deadline for the Secretary of State for Transport to take his decision is amended to 8 March 2021.The decision to extend an examination under the Planning Act 2008 regime is not taken lightly and reflects the exceptional public health circumstances the country finds itself in.The decision to set a new deadline is without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant development consent. 


This statement has also been made in the House of Lords: 
HLWS227

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Donation of £1 million to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation

Dominic Raab: It is the normal practice when a government department proposes to make a gift of a value exceeding £300,000, for the department concerned to present to the House of Commons a minute giving particulars of the gift and explaining the circumstances; and to refrain from making the gift until fourteen parliamentary sitting days after the issue of the minute, except in cases of special urgency.The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 27 January 2020 made a formal joint announcement of a donation by the UK Government of £1 million to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. This donation reflects HMG’s strong commitment to Holocaust remembrance in this the 75th anniversary year of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The donation will be funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government at a cost of £500,000 each. This is a gift donation with no preconditions attached. There is however a precedent for this donation. In 2011 the then Foreign Secretary and then Communities Secretary announced a £2.15 million donation to the Foundation over three years. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation was founded in 2009 and collects funding for the preservation and maintenance of the grounds and remnants of the former Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkenau concentration camps, which are supervised by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim, Poland. The proposed donation has a symbolic value; moreover, preserving Auschwitz-Birkenau contributes to the continuation of Holocaust education. Several thousand UK citizens visit Auschwitz-Birkenau each year and it provides a lasting memorial to the dangers of antisemitism, extremism and racism in general.The Treasury has approved the proposal in principle. If, during the period of fourteen parliamentary sitting days beginning on the date on which this minute was laid before the House of Commons, a Member signifies an objection by giving notice of a Parliamentary Question or a Motion relating to the minute, or by otherwise raising the matter in the House, final approval of the gift will be withheld pending an examination of the objection.


This statement has also been made in the House of Lords: 
HLWS223

Treasury

Economy Update

Rishi Sunak: The Government’s economic plan is one of the most comprehensive in the world. We have provided:Billions of pounds of grants and loans for businessesTens of billions of pounds of deferred taxesIncome protection for millions of the self-employedAnd a strengthened safety net to protect millions of the most vulnerable people. These schemes speak to my and this Conservative government’s values. We believe in the dignity of work. And we are doing everything we can to protect people currently unable to work.Yesterday, my Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister set out our plan for the next phase of the public health response. Today I can confirm the next stage of our Jobs Retention Scheme.The scheme has been a world-leading economic intervention, supporting livelihoods and protecting futures. 7.5 million jobs have been furloughed – jobs we could have lost if we had not acted. Nearly a million businesses who could have closed shop for good. And as we reopen the economy we will need to support people back to work. We will do so in a measured way.I can announce the job retention scheme will be extended, for four months, until the end of October. By that point, we will have provided eight months of support to British people and businesses.Until the end of July, there will be no changes whatsoever. Then from August to October the scheme will continue, for all sectors and regions of the UK, but with greater flexibility to support the transition back to work. Employers currently using the scheme will be able to bring furloughed employees back part time. And to change their incentives, we will ask employers to start sharing, with government, the costs of paying people’s salaries.Full details will follow by the end of May, but I want to assure people today of one thing that won’t change: Workers will, through the combined efforts of government and employers, continue to receive the same overall level of support as they do now, at 80% of their current salary, up to £2,500. I’m extending this scheme because I won’t give up on the people who rely on it.


This statement has also been made in the House of Lords: 
HLWS226

IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust

Rishi Sunak: The Government have today augmented the UK’s 2010 agreement to lend to the International Monetary Fund’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust by a total of 2 billion Special Drawing Rights (approximately £2.2 billion) to support economic recovery and response to COVID-19 in the most vulnerable countries. This takes the total UK agreement to up to 4 billion Special Drawing Rights (approximately £4.4 billion). A copy of the agreement will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses in due course. 


This statement has also been made in the House of Lords: 
HLWS225